In most kitchens today, a number of appliances are sized so that they do not rise above counter-level or are even covered over by counter space and they are designed to be accessed laterally. The purpose of this is to maximize counter space for food preparation, cleaning, etc. Appliances, therefore, incorporate a variety of mechanisms to remove and load their contents by moving the contents horizontally. A typical system by which the rack of an appliance is moved horizontally to facilitate loading and unloading is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 7,909,420 B2. This may present a difficulty to the user, however, in that the user must bend over to reach the rack that holds the contents.
Several attempts have been made to make the rack of an appliance more accessible. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,731,805 B2 shows a system of linkages by which a dishwasher rack swings out and up. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,247,771 B1 the rack is lifted by a scissoring motion of support bars driven by a screw. U.S. Pat. No. 7,862,664 B2 shows a basket with different mounting points wherein the user adjusts which rack mounting points rest on a frame to vary the height of the basket. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 7,775,378 B2 shows a system where the rack is pulled out horizontally, then lifted and set to a desired height with a sprung system.
A need has developed to address one or more shortcomings of the prior art.